Articulating-plate.



NU- 654,527. Patented July 24, |900. T. F. DRISKILL.

ARTICULTING PLATE.

(Application led Apr. 11, 1900.)

(Nu Modal.)

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Unirrnn tries@ THEODORE FREDERICK DRSKILL, OF CORSICANA, TEXAS.

ARTICULATlNc-PLATE.

SPECIFICATION' forming part of Letters Patent No. 654,527, dated July24, 1900.

Application filed April 11,1900.

To all inkom t may concern;

Be it known that I, THEoDoRE FREDERICK DRISKILL, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Corsicana, in the county of Navarro and State ofTexas, have invented a new and useful Articulating-Plate, of which thefollowing is a specication.

My invention relates to a novel articulating plate or dental mold-cupdesigned to constitute a receptacle for wax or any other plasticimpression compound which in the practice of dentistry is employed forthe purpose of securing an impression of the patients edentulousalveolar arches or of the teeth and gums in order tc determine thearticulation and other peculiarities of the arches or teeth preparatoryto themaking of artificial dentures to guide the dentist in hislaboratory work.

One object of the invention is to produce an articulating-plate formedwith upper and lower mold-cups adjustable as to lateral dimensions tofit in the mouth and having practically-permanent but slightly-yieldingrelation in order to preserve the well-defined lines of the impressionwhen the jaws are separated to withdraw the mold from the mouth.

ln the practice of dentistry the usual procedure is to first secure aseparate impression of the upper and lower alveolar arches whether theyare edentate or not and to then secure what are known as casts or modelsfrom the impressions thus obtained. These models lare what are known asartificial dentures, and it becomes necessary after they are obtained toascertain the bite or articulation of thejaws. The usual manner ofobtaining this impression of the articulation is by placing rims orsmall molds of softened waX upon the ridges of the arches, and thepatient is requested to bite thereon in order to secure the imprint ofthe upper and lower arches. Sometimes a large ball of wax or othercompound is employed for the' purpose. The molds or artiticial denturesobtained by the separate impressions are then placed in the impressionsof the wax-bite or articulation and are made fast in what is known as anarticulator.

My invention is designed to facilitate the procuring of the impressionct the articulation or bite after the impressions of the alal Serial No.12,483. (No model.)

veolar arches are taken in accordance with the usual methods.

lt has heretofore been practically impossible to employ upper and lowermolds to simultaneously obtain impressions of the upper and lower jaws,for the reason that the lower jaw has a pivotal or hinged movement whichcauses relative lateral movement of the alveolar arches and the teeth ofthe upper and lower jaws as the latter are separated, and consequentlywhen a simultaneous impression of both the upper and lower teeth isattempted the withdrawal of the teeth from the opposite sides of themold, or rather from the upper and lower mold, causes the impressions ormold-cavities in the lower mold to be enlarged by the lateral movementof the teeth or arches of the lower jaw.

` A further object of theinvention, therefore, is to so relate the upperand lower mold-cups that they will be practically in iixed relation, butwill be lcapable of such slight relative movement as will permit thelower cup to spring downwardly to cause the mold-cavities or impressionsto follow the lateral movement of the lower set of teeth as the latterare withdrawn from the mold. The effect of this peculiar arrangementmakes possible the securing sim ultaneously of impressions of both theupper and lower jaws, because the .lateral movement of the lower-jawteeth, which has heretofore been an unsurmountable obstacle,

is compensated for by this slight relative yielding of the mold-cups.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means forautomatically retaining the sections of the plate in theirrelativelyadjusted positions, so that in adjusting the molds to themouth it is simply necessary to expand or contract the plates, as thecase may be, to cause the adjustment of the plate members withoutoperating an adj usting-scre w or other similar adjusting mechanism.

To the accomplishment of these several objects and others subordinatethereto, all as will hereinafter more fully appear, the inventionconsists in the novel construction and arrangement ot the plate, whichwill more fully appear hereinafter.

ln the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my plateinverted, showing the expanded positions of the plate mem- IOO bers indotted lines. Fig. 2 is a side elevation or edge View thereof. Fig. 3 isa transverse sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is asectional view on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of thearrows.

Referring to the numerals of reference designating corresponding partsin each of the several views, 1 and 2 indicate the plate members,wl1ichare stamped from light sheet metal and are movably connected at theirrear ends (the juxtaposition of which latter produces a handle 3) by ahinge connection 4. This hinge connection may be formed in any suitablemanner, provided it permits of lateral swinging of the members 1 and 2;but I prefer to overlap the contiguous edges of the members, as shown,and provide one of said members with an open-ended slot 5 at its rearend, designed to engage a headed stud or pintle 6, extending from theface of the other member. At the front end of the handle 3, which may beof any desired contour, the overlapped members are bent out of thehorizontal plane of the handle, as indicated at 7, and are continued ina somewhat-lower plane to form the upper mold-cup 8, defined betweenmold-retaining langes 9 and 10, bent into substantially-parallelrelation from the opposite edges of the members 1 and 2. At the end ofthe upper mold-cup 8 opposite the handle the plate members are bent backupon themselves to form the integral but slightly-yielding or resilientlower mold cup 11 in divergent or slightly-inclined relation to theupper moldcup 8 in order to relate the two cups in the lines of radiicorresponding to the relation of the upper and lower articulation of themouth to the joint of the lower jaw. At the rear eX- tremity of thelower mold-cup-that is to say,

- at the end nearest the handlethe extremities of the overlapped membersare bent toward the contiguous face of the upper moldcup to formretaining and limiting flanges 12 and 13, which by their frictionalcontact oppose the relative movement of the members and which by theirapposition to the upper mold-cup serve to limit the yielding of thelower mold-cup when the jaws are closed upon the opposed molds for thepurpose of producing the impression in plastic compound or moldA Theoverlapping edges of the members 1 and 2 are cut away from a pointadjacent to the rear ends of both the upper and lower cups in order thatthose contiguous portions of the members constituting the bottom wallsof the cups may be depressed into the same plane for the purpose ofmaking the walls or faces of the cups perfectly smooth and to cause thecontiguous side edges of the members to abut for the purpose oflimitingthe inwardmovement or contraction of the plate members to define cups ofminimum dimensions.

By reference to Fig.l 2 of the drawings it will be observed that theconstruction described comprehends the' interiitting of the member lwithin the member 2, since the doubled portion of the member 1,comprehending corresponding side portions of the upper and lowermold-cups, tits within the doubled portion of the member 2, defining theopposite side portions of said cups. It will now be observed that theplate members may be laterally separated or expanded to any desiredextent to adjust the size of the mold to the mouth of the patient andthat the frictional contact between the interiitting members,particularly between the iianges 12 and 13, will retain the members intheir adjusted positions without the necessity for the employment ofspecial adjusting devices. In order, however, to insure the retention ofthe plate members, I prefer to employ adjustable means for presentingfurther frictional resistance to the relative movement of said members.One embodiment of such means comprehends the provision ot acompression-screw 14, provided with a head 1 5 and passed through anelongated transverse slot 16 in the member 2 and screwed into a threadedopening 17 in the rmember 1, the slot 1G being slightly curvedconcentric withv the stud 6. Between the head l5 of thecompression-screw 14 and the adjacent face of the plate 2 I interpose ayielding resistance-fas, for instance, a rubber or other resilientwasher 15S-which while opposing a frictional resistance to the movementof the members will permit their expansion or contraction upon theapplication of the necessary pressure by the dentist when placing themold inthe mouth and adjusting it therein. The special utility of thisparticular form of plate will readily appear upon careful considerationof the conditions governing the taking of dental impressions.

As heretofore stated, the lower jaw swings from a hinge-joint, andtherefore the lower teeth recede from the upper teeth whenthe jaws areopened in an arcuate path concentric with the hinge of the jaw. Now ifwe assume that a plastic compound is placed between the teeth and animpression secured upon both sides of the mold by the sinking of theteeth therein it will be evident that when the jaws are open the lateralmovement IOO of the lower teeth will spread or distort the impressionsin the lower side ot' the mold and will render the cast practicallyuseless, as it is well understood in the art that these impressions mustbe accurate reproductions of the articulation in order to be of any usewhatever.

Now by reference to the drawings 4it will be seen that the upper andlower mold-cups are normally heldin such inclined relation that when thejaws are closed upon the mold the upper and lower molds will be locatedin planes parallel to the articulations of the upper and lower teeth andthat as thejaws are further closed to sink the teeth into the plasticmaterial the lower mold-cup will yield to accommodate the change ofrelation of the lower .jaw to theY line of the'upper jaw, or, in

other words, to compensate for the arcuate line of movement described bythe lower jaw in the act of closing. In like manner when the lower jawis dropped to withdraw the teeth or edentulous gums from the mold themold-cup by reason of its resilient connection will swing back to itsnormal position, again compensating for the arcuate movement of thelower teeth or gums, and thereby preventing the distortion of themold-cavities. WVhen it is desired to separate the members entirely forthe purpose of cleaning the plate, it is simply necessary to unscrew thecompressionscrew 14 and draw the member 1 longitudinally in order todisengage the slot 5 from the stud 6.

From the foregoing it will be observed that I have produced a simple,ingenious, and eflicient articulating-plate for dental purposes; butwhile the present embodiment of my invention appears at this time to bepreferable I do not wish to limit myself to the structural detailsdefined, but reserve the right to effect such changes, modifications,and variations as may come properly within the scope of the protectionprayed.

1. An articulating-plate comprising upper and lower mold-cups, and meansfor yieldingly retaining the mold-cups in a manner to permit theirapproach under pressure, whereby said mold-cups are capable of limitedrelative movement under the clamping action of the patients jaws.

2. An articulating-plate bent to form a pair of opposed mold-cups.

3. An articulating-plate bent back upon itself to form opposed,oppositely-disposed upper and lower mold-cups.

4. An articulating-plate bent back upon itself to form a pair of opposedmold-cups,said plate being composed of a plurality of longitudinal platemembers capable of relative lateral movement.

5. An articulating-plate comprising relatively-movable members, meansfor yieldingly retaining said members in their adjusted positions, andyieldingly-related upper and lower mold-cups.

6. An articulating-plate comprising a pair of mold-cups. composed oflaterally-adjustable members, a member of each cup being integral with amember of the other cup.

7. An articulating-plate comprising an upper mold-cup and a lowermold-cup, means for connecting one end of the lower mold-cup to thecontiguous end of the upper mold-cup in a manner to yieldingly retainsaid cups in spaced relation and to permit said mold-cu ps to approacheach other under the pressure of the patients jaws, and means forlimiting such relative movement of the mold-cups.

' 8. An articulating-plate comprising longitudinal plate members, eachof which is bent back upon itself to form one side of both a lower andan upper mold-cup, said members being overlapped at their opposite ends.

9. An articulating-plate comprising a pair of members detachablyconnected by a hinge connection and bent to form upper and lowermold-cups, means for limiting the relative lateral movement of themembers, and means for opposing a frictional resistance 'to saidrelative movement.

10. An articulating-plate comprising laterally-adjustable members bentback upon themselves to form corresponding side sections of upper andlower mold-enps,said members being provided with terminal anges infrictional contact and opposing yielding resistance to the separation.of the members.`

l1. An articulating-plate comprising a pair of relatively,laterally-movable members pivotally connected at one end and bent toform upper and lower mold-cups, a flange at the free end of the lowermold-cup arranged to abut against the plate to limit the relativemovement of the cups,'and means for limiting the relative movement ofthe members.

12. An articulating-plate comprising a pair of members hinged at one endand bent to form upper and lower mold-cups,` overlapping iiangesextending from the free end of the lower mold-cup and designed toimpinge against the upper member to limit the relative movement of thecups, one'of said members being slotted, a compression-screw passedthrough said slot and screwed into the other member, and a resilientresistance interposed between the head of the screw and thecontiguousface of the slotted member.

13. An articulating-plate comprising a pair of relatively-movablemembers, and resilient means for opposing frictional resistance to themovement of said members.

14. An articulating-plate bent back upon itself to form a plurality ofmold-cups, and a flange or projection extending from one moldcup anddesigned to abut against the plate.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

THEODORE FREDERICK DRISIIILL,

Witnesses:

W. M. WELLS, W. T. SHELL.

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